Following the Orlando massacre, President Obama has called for the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban and measures to prevent suspected terrorists from obtaining guns. One of the two guns used by Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle, the same style used in the massacres in San Bernardino, California; at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado; and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. On Tuesday, hundreds of people gathered outside the headquarters of the National Rifle Association in Fairfax, Virginia, to call for gun control measures. Troy Petenbrink was among them.
Troy Petenbrink: “We need the assault weapon ban to be back in place. We need to keep these guns off the street and unavailable. We’re not talking about hunting rifles. We’re not talking about your basic guns that you need for protection. That’s all fine and good. We all support that. What we don’t support is literally weapons of mass destruction—49 people killed in a matter of minutes.”